Posted 5 years ago on Nov. 5, 2011, 7:15 p.m. EST by jak321
(40)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

The iPod and iPhone are manufactured in Shenzen, China, though Foxconn who maintains factories in countries across the world, including Thailand, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines. You are supporting a company that sends jobs overseas and takes away from American jobs. Let's cut through the BS...doesn't this make you part of the problem not the solution you all seem so determined to fix.

Agreed. If you don't fully support American only jobs by only purchasing American products, then stop complaining about importing foreign products or outsourcing. Look around your house and see where everything you own is made... I don't like Americans losing jobs either, but I'll admit I'm not selfless enough to give up the Iphone or always pay significantly higher prices for products made in the USA.

ConEdison is cranking out the profits from all those battery recharges. Their stock is close to an all time high. What's good for OWS is good for ConEd. They pay their investors a pretty good dividend too. Win - Win - Win!!

Some items are made here and others are not. I am not the one screaming for change. I am not a member nor do I support OWS. I am OK buying something from another country, as are you under certain circumstances. This country is far from perfect but if you and your friends of OWS know a better place than please go and don't forget to clean up your mess.

What percentage of the opposition owns an iPhone and iPod. By your logic, our founding fathers shouldn't have rebelled against the King because after all, they owned English furniture.

America needs to get those jobs back. Taxing corporations wont work - but we do need to give the electoral system back to the people. And we do need to wipe out the loophole in 'capital gains' income which allows the mega rich to pay less in taxes than you do.

Squatting at the bank doorstep may feel good -- really good -- but it's futile. I doubt the bank CEOs are going to race down their elevators wearing wooden barrels, doling out money to the dejected masses. If not, what do you want them to do? I hate to use that hackneyed phrase now, but "what do you expect to happen?" This is a big divide among Occupy supporters/potential supporters. A little insight into tangible possibilities of what change could come from a mob near Wall Street would be helpful. Honestly, the best bet for change is changing things from the government end. Find candidates who WON'T be owned by the cartels (RonPaul? Adbusters staff? yourself?) and run for office and WIN and shape DC up.

I believe the glue that this movement has is that its primarily motivated by the wealth gap and Wall Street has been a proxy for that. I agree that the movement needs to focus its efforts on Washington, but really thats not even that important. The message is the message wherever its broadcast from.

What did Martin Luther King and the civil rights protesters expect? White America to come out and start doling out money? No. They wanted equal voice. We'll our voice has been stolen by the campaign funding apparatus - which not only favors the elite, it assures their complete dominance. So what do I expect to happen? I expect a complete overhaul of the campaign funding system whereby the people can choose who their candidates for leadership are. As it is right now, we get two wolves in sheeps clothing each backed by one side of the media. Its a complete farse.

PS: I'm sure right now they the corporations are funding a 3rd party to create a third fake option for us as well.

Good point, and I get that. Still. I second PRJ's point to occupy the foreclosures -- the park should not be the venue. Take this right to the heart of the matter. It would also be stunning to find as powerful a leader as MLK was in the Civil Rights issue…but maybe that's to come.

And we (you and I) need to support American business so the jobs can remain here in this country. You can try to justify it all you want but the fact is you are part of the problem. A great deal of blame needs to go around for sure but for you and OWS to blame everyone else is simply wrong and irresponsible. Look in the mirror.

Thats right. We do need to support American business. That's the first good thing you've said yet. I believe the corporate tax should be lowered, not raised, for all companies producing the majority of their product in the US. 90% of offshoring jobs is to avoid tax disparities. But that still doesn't explain why capital gains tax breaks allow your average Fortune 500 magnate to pay less in taxes than I do. Or that the Corporatocracy owns Washington. Or that the global financial institutions have made a history of plundering the world economy for the gain of the few and at the expense of the many.

To the contrary. My car is US, My motorcycle is US, My boots are US, My leathers are US, I buy every conceivable item made in the USA- I pay the high dollar to do so as well. But when boots last years rather than months the expenditure is easily justified. Yet for all efforts it is impossible to get a phone made in the USA, or any electronics for that matter. As I said they don't grow coffee in Georgia. So your immature and poorly thought finger pointing should be done in a mirror. What do you drive? Where does your food come from, where were YOUR shoes made. Now if people would just stop shopping at wal-mart.

PRJ, I wonder what you think about a "counter OWS" movement I feel like starting (or I wish Occupy would evolve into) and that's a LOCAVORE-SUSTAINABLE movement. I think if everyone focused on local goods and cultivating a "locavore" sensibility, so many of our society's ills would be remedied -- in a flash. Sustainable farms mean better ecosystems, better foods for our bodies, reconnecting ourselves to where our food comes from. Rooftop farms, even. Using "local" transportation such as your feet or a bike does wonders for improving road safety and cardiovascular systems. Shopping local boosts local economies, people reconnect with each other and build other connections (my local pet supply store is now a hub for learning about lost dogs, finding strays homes, and swapping pet care tips -- really small scale but a powerful real service to the community. The local florist and bakery provides food and small jobs to our neighborhood's homeless, giving them hope, humanity and daily sustenance. Multiply this local mindfulness by dozens, hundreds -- and we've got a healthy thriving community/city/nation. Obviously, we'd have to deal with campaign reform, tax reform, and other big picture stuff, but I think the sustainable - locavore approach is a huge part of improving our population's mental/physical health.

I find great appeal in the idea. I have been advocating adverse possession of property through occupation long before anyone thought of this. All with the intention of creating the counter-cultures you describe above. I do believe that that is the only true revolution.

And, you know, it's already succeeding! Ten years ago, who cared about "where my food comes from?" Now, you can't go one block in NYC without bumping into a "farm to table" establishment. There are more greenmarkets than ever across the country. It's no longer "hippie" to request your power comes from wind and solar power sources (though not enough of the latter - could someone PLEASE charge ahead with a solar agenda!?). I'd even argue Meetups and the thriving book clubs and knitting circles (are these still a big thing?) fall into the local mindfulness category -- people looking around their community and taking advantage/contributing to it.

you NEED a phone or fancy electronics? No, you WANT these luxuries and thats OK with me. But just be clear that these things you WANT and don't NEED are produced overseas and it is you and I that are supporting these companies because of the things we WANT not NEED. Again, you and I are part of the problem.

I didn't make it more profitable to ship materials one way then product back. I was not in charge of it. You are accusing me of consumerism. It isn't one of my big faults. I hardly buy anything. Where were the shoes on your feet made? Mine were in Carolina.

That is because the American people have been brainwashed every where they turn to buy, buy, buy. America is just a big resource hog.
Once people realize one that this practice is not sustainable and two this materialism has no meaning and is not necessary for a quality life then things will change.

Most everything in America is made in RED China or somewhere else. Even a lot of our food comes from overseas. So how is your statement valid?
Personally, I never voted for moving all manufacturing overseas and it makes me mad.
No, I do not own an iPod or iPhone ...

I buy what I need when I can afford it. I want to see the criminals prosecuted. I am not as idealistic as some of the younger folks out here. I have to be realistic and live in this world. But does that mean we can't go after those entities that steal from us?